Original US issue Trousers, Desert Camouflage Pattern, Six Color, Combat, on contract DLA100-91-C-0315 to Wrangler. X-Large Short, 50 percent nylon and 50 percent cotton. Instruction and size labels both intact and fully legible.

Collectors know this print as chocolate chip, and it is the single most recognizable American camouflage of the late Cold War. The design goes back to 1960 and John H. Hopkins at MERADCOM, formalized in 1970, drawn from the rocky deserts of the American southwest at a time when Army planners were thinking about a war in the Arab-Israeli theater. When that prospect cooled the pattern went on the shelf, and it stayed there until the late 1970s brought the Middle East back into focus. It went into issue in 1981 alongside the woodland BDU, at first only to the newly formed Rapid Deployment Force and to units running the Bright Star exercises with Egypt.

Look at what it is actually doing. A light tan ground carries broad sweeps of pale green and two tone bands of brown, and scattered across the whole are clusters of black and white spots meant to read as pebbles and the shadows they throw. It is a literal rendering of desert floor, right down to the rocks.

Then it went to war, and the theory came apart. In August 1990 the United States deployed to Saudi Arabia in six color, and chocolate chip became the uniform of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, worn in every photograph and every news broadcast of that war. Soldiers on the ground found it contrasted too sharply with the flat open terrain they were actually fighting over, which had none of the rock clusters the pattern was built to imitate, and the dark areas soaked up heat in a place that needed no help being hot. The three color replacement had already been designed and standardized in 1990 but was not ready in quantity in time. The six color was discontinued after 1991.

Which is exactly where this pair sits. A 1991 contract is the last year of production, made as the war it is remembered for was being fought and the pattern was already being written out. The contractor is worth noting too. Wrangler, better known for putting denim on American backs, was cutting government combat trousers under Defense Logistics Agency contract, a reminder that the wartime clothing base ran straight through the commercial garment industry.

For a collector this is the anchor piece of a Gulf War display and the natural partner to the desert night camouflage overgarments that were meant to be worn over it. The pattern’s later adoption by streetwear and its endless reproduction have steadily thinned the supply of honest contract originals.

CONDITION AND DETAILS

Size X-Large Short per the label
Waist over 39 inches, adjustable by tabs on the waistband
Inseam 26 1/2 to 29 1/2 inches
NSN 8415-01-102-6808, NATO size 6775/9909
Contract DLA100-91-C-0315, Wrangler
50 percent nylon, 50 percent cotton
Fabric sound throughout with strong color and a crisp print
Light overall wear consistent with service use and laundering
Waist adjustment tabs and buckles present and functional
Both leg bottom drawcords present with tips intact
Button fly complete, all buttons present
Cargo pockets, hip pockets, watch pocket and all flaps present and sound
Instruction and size labels both present and fully legible
No insignia, markings or name to the garment
No holes, tears or repairs noted

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